Monday, March 19, 2012

The second annual Locavore Lit Fest will bring national and regional writers to Chestertown for a series of talks about seafood, foraging, fermentation and the wonders of “wild” foods from March 30th through April 1st.

The weekend kicks off on Friday with a talk and demonstration by Sandor Ellis Katz, author of Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods. Since its publication in 2003, Katz has taught hundreds of workshops across North America and beyond. Be part of the fermentation revival! Learn how simple it is to make your own kimchi, kefir, and other delicacies. The talk will begin at 6:00 PM in Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall, on the Washington College campus and will be followed by a mini-farmer’s market featuring fresh local produce. Katz’s new book, The Art of Fermentation, with foreword by Michael Pollan, is due later this summer.

On Saturday, Chestertown bookstores will host a cadre of writers offering other perspectives on wild foods. Mick Blackistone, editor of the Maryland Watermen’s Gazette, will lecture at 10:30 AM at the Bookplate located at 112 S. Cross Street. Blackistone is the author of eight books for children and adults focusing on the Chesapeake Bay, watermen and the environment.

At the Compleat Bookseller, located on the corner of High and Cross Streets, novelist Jean Hegland will speak on edible landscapes at 11:30 AM on Saturday. Hegland's first novel, Into the Forest, has been translated into twelve languages and is taught in a number of community- and campus-wide reading programs. The novel has been optioned for film development by a creative team that includes the actress Ellen Page. Hegland lives in the woods of Northern California, where she enjoys nibbling the landscape as she works on her latest book.

The day finishes back on the Washington College campus at 2:00 PM with a skill-share and talk by Peter Bauer (aka Urban Scout), author of Rewild Or Die. Scout is a multi-disciplinary artist and educator who created an international forum and wiki (www.rewild.info) and blogs about rewilding at http://www.urbanscout.org/. Scout will present some radical ideas about civilization and humans’ role in the natural world. After the talk, there is a skill-share at 3:00 PM. You may meet up with others interested in skills such as basketry, stone points and jewelry, leatherwork, fire-by-friction, animal tracking, nature awareness and story-telling. Bring a project to work on and share, or come and watch others demonstrate their skills.

On Sunday, meet Dr. Bill Schindler and forage for wild plants at Adkins Arboretum (12610 Eveland Road in Ridgely, MD). Participants will go into the field to learn how to identify, harvest, and prepare many of spring’s wild edibles. Schindler is a professor of anthropology and archaeology at Washington College. There will be workshops at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM. The cost is $15 for members of Adkins Arboretum and $20 for non-members. Register for the walk here.

The Center for Environment & Society at Washington College sponsors the Locavore Lit Fest and supports the free exchange of ideas. Other community sponsors include Chestertown Natural Foods, the Rose O’Neill Literary House, Colchester Farm CSA, the Chestertown Spy, and the Kent County Arts Council. With the exception of the foraging walk at Adkins Arboretum ($20), all events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact 410-810-7162 or tholste2@washcoll.edu or ces.washcoll.edu.

Friday, March 30

6:00- 8:00 PM

Sandor Ellis Katz, author of Wild Fermentation

Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall, Washington College

Demo and lecture, followed by Q&A and mini-farmer’s market

Saturday, March 31

10:30 AM Mick Blackistone, editor of the Maryland Watermen's Gazette

Bookplate, 112 S. Cross Street

11:30 AM Jean Hegland, author of Into the Forest

Compleat Bookseller, corner of Cross and High Streets

2:00 PM Rewilding lecture and skill share with Urban Scout

Washington College

Sunday, April 1

1:00 PM Foraging walk with Dr. Bill Schindler

Adkins Arboretum

3:00 PM Foraging walk with Dr. Bill Schindler

Adkins Arboretum

To register for the foraging walks, please visit the Adkins website. The cost is $15 for members and $20 for nonmembers. Space is limited so register soon!

March 22, 20124:30 PMLitrenta Lecture HallOn Thursday, March 22nd, Dr. Christine Keiner will discuss her book, The Oyster Question: Scientists, Watermen, and the Maryland Chesapeake Bay since 1880, at 4:30 PM in Litrenta Lecture Hall at Washington College. Dr. Keiner’s outlook challenges standard interpretations of the local oyster fishery as the epitome of the “tragedy of the commons.” The lecture will be followed by a brief Q&A, and autographed copies of The Oyster Question will be available for sale.Christine Keiner earned a B.A. in biology from McDaniel College and a Ph.D. in the history of science from Johns Hopkins University. She is an associate professor in the Science, Technology, and Society/Public Policy Department at Rochester Institute of Technology. Her book won the 2010 Forum for the History of Science in America Prize and co-won the Maryland Historical Trust’s Heritage Book Award, as well as Honorable Mention for the Frederick Jackson Turner Award from the Organization of American Historians.This event is sponsored by the Center for Environment & Society at Washington College and is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact tholste2@washcoll.edu or 410-810-7162. Litrenta Lecture Hall is located in the Toll Science Building along Campus Avenue. Parking is available in the campus lot beside Goldstein Hall.

Each fall, the Chesapeake Semester will engage a select group of students in the interdisciplinary study of North America’s largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay. Participants will study the complex history, ecology, and culture of the Chesapeake as a microcosm of the challenges and transitions confronting coastal communities around the world. Using the College and the shores and waters of the Chester River as base camps, you will journey in, on and around the 64,000 square mile watershed.

Associate Director Doug Levin will be bloggging for National Geographic's "Deep Sea Challenge." Explorer James Cameron will travel deep below the ocean, while Dr. Levin translates the information gathered for readers. From the National Geographic website: "We know less about the deepest points on our planet than we do about the surface of Mars. The DEEPSEA CHALLENGE team is dedicated to advancing the world’s understanding of our ocean’s vast range of biological and geological phenomena. The historic expedition to the Mariana Trench’s lowest point, the Challenger Deep, which lies 6.83 miles (10.99 kilometers) below the ocean surface, is the first extensive scientific exploration in a manned submersible of the deepest spot on Earth. Piloting the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER, which is outfitted for scientific exploration, James Cameron will conduct tests, collect samples, and document the experience in the high-resolution 3-D for which he’s known globally."

The Center for Environment & Society (CES) promotes interdisciplinary learning, research, and exemplary stewardship of natural and cultural resources. It endeavors to shed light on the reciprocal relationship between humankind and the natural world. Our primary mission is to support the integration of ecological and social values.